go-delve/delve · error

wrong type for pcs item %d: %v

Error message

wrong type for pcs item %d: %v

What it means

When reconstructing a goroutine stack from the runtime's gp.pcs (or similar) slice, each element is expected to be a uintptr-like reflect.Uint value. If a child variable has any other Kind, the stack cannot be built and this error is thrown. It signals the pcs slice variable was decoded incorrectly or is corrupted.

Source

Thrown at pkg/proc/variables.go:1118

// Stack returns the stack trace of ancestor 'a' as saved by the runtime.
func (a *Ancestor) Stack(n int) ([]Stackframe, error) {
	if a.Unreadable != nil {
		return nil, a.Unreadable
	}
	pcsVar := a.pcsVar.clone()
	pcsVar.loadValue(LoadConfig{MaxArrayValues: n})
	if pcsVar.Unreadable != nil {
		return nil, pcsVar.Unreadable
	}
	r := make([]Stackframe, len(pcsVar.Children))
	for i := range pcsVar.Children {
		if pcsVar.Children[i].Unreadable != nil {
			r[i] = Stackframe{Err: pcsVar.Children[i].Unreadable}
			continue
		}
		if pcsVar.Children[i].Kind != reflect.Uint {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("wrong type for pcs item %d: %v", i, pcsVar.Children[i].Kind)
		}
		pc, _ := constant.Int64Val(pcsVar.Children[i].Value)
		fn := a.pcsVar.bi.PCToFunc(uint64(pc))
		if fn == nil {
			loc := Location{PC: uint64(pc)}
			r[i] = Stackframe{Current: loc, Call: loc}
			continue
		}
		pc2 := uint64(pc)
		if pc2-1 >= fn.Entry {
			pc2--
		}
		f, ln := fn.cu.lineInfo.PCToLine(fn.Entry, pc2)
		loc := Location{PC: uint64(pc), File: f, Line: ln, Fn: fn}
		r[i] = Stackframe{Current: loc, Call: loc}
	}
	r[len(r)-1].Bottom = pcsVar.Len == int64(len(pcsVar.Children))
	return r, nil

View on GitHub (pinned to a23773e6c3)

Solutions

1. Upgrade Delve to a version matching the Go toolchain used to build the target (check Delve's supported Go versions).
2. Rebuild the target with a supported Go version and re-debug.
3. If it persists, report the failing variable Kind to go-delve/delve as a runtime layout mismatch.

Example fix

// before
go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@latest  # may lag Go tip

// after: pin a Delve release matching your Go version
go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@v1.22.0

frames, err := g.Stack(n, opts)
if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "wrong type for pcs item") {
    // fall back to thread-based stack (Thread.Stacktrace) instead of goroutine pcs
}

When it happens

Trigger: Goroutine stack extraction on a target where the pcs slice children were read as something other than unsigned ints (unreadable flag not set but Kind differs) — usually a DWARF layout mismatch or binary/ debugger version skew.

Common situations: Go runtime layout changes vs an outdated Delve version; debugging a binary built with a Go version newer than the Delve release supports.

Related errors

• unknown goroutine %d
• error derefing *G %s
• could not decode first frame
• unable to find function context
• unable to find locals: no debug information present in binar

AI-assisted analysis of go-delve/delve@a23773e6c3 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6a3846d047aaef3e. Report an issue: GitHub.